Full Circle
by Shenlong Girl
Summary: ”We're not going to let this stand, are we?” Rose is not satisfied with how things turned out on Bad Wolf Bay, but it's a long path back to 10 and the TARDIS. What discoveries and hardships will she and 10.2 find along the way? A JE fixit fic.
1. Defiance

**Title:** Full Circle  
**Author:** Shen  
**Rating:** PG-13  
**Setting/Spoilers:** Post-Journey's End  
**Teaser:** "_We're not going to let this stand, are we?"_ Rose is not satisfied with how things turned out on Bad Wolf Bay, but it's a long path back to 10 and the TARDIS. What discoveries and hardships will she and 10.2 find along the way? A JE fixit fic.  
**Author's Note:** I should be able to update this every other day for at least 5 chapters or so.

**Chapter 1: Defiance**

She stared ahead, frozen, and he stared at her. He was almost glad he couldn't see her expression, dawning and setting, he imagined, on rending horror and pain as the other him faded away. Still, he was no coward; he walked up and took her hand to give what comfort he could. It tightened around his reflexively, as natural as breathing. But when she turned her head, it was shock she regarded him with, to see this man in blue that her traitorous appendage so readily embraced. Or so he imagined, so lost did she look.

"He abandoned us..."

"I know." What else could be said?

"We're not going to let this stand, are we?" He blinked, then gave her a pained look.

"Rose..." She slapped his hand away and spun to face him fully.

Shock abruptly cast aside, she yelled, "You don't get it, do you! God, you're as stupid as he is!"

"I am him!" he shouted back. She gestured wildly.

"Exactly! How can you be okay with what just happened? You know exactly how he feels." Tears brightened the reflection of the sea in her eyes, but her jaw was set. It made his heart twinge to see it, and now that he only had one, that was significant indeed. Rassilon help him, he'd even missed the stubborn look she could acquire when set against him.

Gentling his tone, he explained, "I know he wants you to be happy. To live a full life. Can't we be happy?" His voice cracked at the end, and he internally recoiled at his own vulnerability. His needs were not the issue here; how could he have just said that? However, Rose didn't yell. She calmed with a sigh and grabbed both of his hands.

"I care for you," she said, punctuating it with a squeeze. "You're different in ways I haven't learned yet, but you're my Doctor at heart; I get that. Your kiss is... just now was..." she floundered, looking to the side and blinking rapidly, "just, I understand, okay? You're made from him, and I'm overjoyed to have you here. Promise." She gathered herself again, her expression becoming a little more stern.

"But that's not how love works. Me loving yo-him-the Doctor doesn't mean that all I want is to have one of you for my own, and bollocks to the rest. It's me wanting you to be happy. _All_ of you."

Once more, he tried, "That's why he did this. He wants you to be happy! More than anything; we both do." He glanced at Jackie, but she had wisely chosen to keep out of this quarrel. The harpy.

"And what about him? It's... it's not enough." She shook her head to punctuate it. "He said it himself: you need me. He does, too. And I believe it. You... My God, you've been cut down to having just one life to live. To growing older day after day, and you've decided to spend that limited time with me! There's no guarantee we'll ever travel off-planet again, and you still chose me." She'd grown quiet, in awe of his sacrifice now that she'd put it to words.

He rebuffed quietly, "You would have given up your family for me." Suddenly, she spun away from him and turned back only a moment later, throwing her arms wide in frustration.

"And isn't that... baffling, terrifying, beautiful love? How could you think I'd let him be unhappy if I could fight it, if I could make a stand like you always taught me? If I thought he'd be happier without me, I'd gladly stay here. But just like my decision to leave my family proved to you that I wouldn't be content otherwise – twice! – you choosing to stay here proved to me the same. I can't let him alone. Just... tell me you'll help me try? We owe it to him to try and clean up this mess, for all that he made it in the first place. Will you help?"

Well, that was it, then. He had never been capable of denying her anything for long, and in this case, she was right, as long as they could do it safely. Though he hadn't so much "chosen" to stay, in the sense that the other him wanted him out of the TARDIS one way or another, that was beside the point. He'd been stupid to think Rose would be alright with letting his other self go. So, the other him would just have to adjust to seeing the more human side of himself again.

Handily out-argued by a human. How the mighty had fallen, indeed.

He nodded, and the fire seeped from her bones. She took his hand, which he gave gratefully, and bent her head. Swiftly, he pulled her close with his free arm, and she had what he suspected she'd call, "a good cry."

* * *

Even that first night, when part of her wanted to be alone and cry out her confusion and sense of betrayal, she couldn't let him go stay at her parents' on his own. She suspected the much missed sound of a dual heartbeat under her ear, along with a Time Lord's slow breathing, would have lulled her to deep unconsciousness. Still, this hybrid Doctor's achingly, beautifully familiar scent was hardly worthless. He was Time Lord enough still to smell like one, and it did wonders for comfort.

"Thank you for letting me stay here," he whispered in the dark. She snuggled closer. She was reeling from the day's events, still, but holding a man with her lover's face was a balm.

Trying to extend some comfort in return, she said, "Don't be ridiculous. A chilly, fidgety body in the bed and the incessant hum of the TARDIS in the background – it's a wonder what you can grow to miss." He abruptly stopped rocking his foot back and forth, and she gave a soft laugh. "You're warm now. 'S nice, in this cold flat. And honestly, the quiet was like a nighttime orchestra for weeks after I came here. If it's the same for you, I understand."

"I can hum if you like?" he volunteered, showing the first sign of cheer since their heated kiss.

"Shut up," she grumbled good naturedly, and he kissed her hair. Soon, exhausted by an outrageous adventured followed by a long flight home, they slept.


	2. Getting the Ball Rolling

**Chapter 2: Getting the Ball Rolling**

After a late lie-in, Rose and Jackie went and got the Doctor new glasses, as much like the old ones as could be managed. The optometrist about drove him up the wall. The Doctor had no patience for his tests, insisting that he knew his prescription and didn't need to use primitive posters full of gibberish to ascertain it, but they wouldn't send frames off to the lab without an exam.

Next, they took him shopping, which was another whine-inducing adventure. Why did he need jeans? What was wrong with having 99 button-down tops? But at the end, Rose got him some banana cream pie ice cream, and he was all smiles.

Activity was good. A lot had happened, and if she had tried to sit down and process it all at once, or even sat with the Doctor to work it out at once, she might have snapped and wound up a puddle of emotion flowing from grief to fury and back. Which would then have a fallout of its very own.

To her relief that day, he never asked about the day before. Didn't seem interested in knowing whether she would have left him or not, gone with her other Doctor and abandoned his doppelganger if that was what was required. It was a good thing he didn't. She wasn't sure she knew as much herself.

* * *

"And this is the infamous Torchwood," Rose explained, stopping outside its front door. It had been a week of vacation time and of getting re-accustomed to each other. Indeed, the Doctor had to get accustomed to himself in his new hybrid body. It tired easily, ate a great deal, and was actually capable of suffering indigestion. It would be a while before she could convince him to eat curry again.

They didn't make love, at least not yet. Just held each other as they slept.

Awkwardness was at a surprising minimum, confined chiefly to stumbled-over mentions of their past, reminders that there was a Doctor one universe over, suffering alone while they at least had each other. They got past them by working on a plan to fix it. As it happened, one of those emerged pretty quickly, but to accomplish it, they'd need some serious tech. On top of that, the Doctor needed a hobby, now that there was no TARDIS to tinker with. Rose had genuine fear of what appliances he would cannibalize and/or set on fire if left to fester in tedium for too long. Therefore, they were at Torchwood, land of the high tech.

"Pete practically fell over himself offering you a position; he was over the moon when I told him yes," she praised him.

"He's not going to keep me cooped in the lab all the time, is he? Because I love the lab, live for it, and in our case I need it, but I don't know what indiscretions my new, humanlike hormones will prompt me to if aggravated by excessive boredom." She smiled.

"Making demands on a job you didn't even have to apply for. You're still rude."

"And part ginger, on the inside!" he chimed in cheekily. She laughed, and he smiled even wider.

"No worries, hyper one. You'll come out on the field with me from time to time if I have anything to say about it; you have too much experience to let it go to waste. But when I'll be doing paperwork and ordering people about, you'll be pouring chemicals from one little tube to another, or whatever it is you science types do." She knew he wouldn't take her jabs seriously; he'd been almost embarrassingly enthusiastic when she told him about all the physics study she'd accomplished in his absence.

"Well, then, you enjoy filling out forms in triplicate and fighting the rest of the office for pens," he teased. "That is, once we actually get inside." Rolling her eyes, Rose led him through the doors to get registered.

* * *

Three hours, lots of forms, and some photos later, the Doctor had a brand new identity, as evidenced by the freshly minted card in his wallet. Doctor John Donnach. He shied away from being called "John Smith," for reasons he promised to explain at a later time, muttering something about history teachers. Donnach, on the other hand, was reminiscent of Donna, who was very much a part of him now. The name also stood for strength – a prevalent characteristic of hers. Rose found the tribute heart-warming, especially in light of what would have had to become of the poor woman after leaving Bad Wolf Bay.

"Hello, Rose! Is this the new talent you've scouted?" asked a kindly-looking man in his late fifties, not too much taller than her. His hair was salt and pepper, and his green eyes crinkled at the edges with laugh lines.

"Doctor Phelps! Nice of you to run into us; saves me an effort. This is the Doc- Doctor John Donnach. John, this is Doctor Phelps. His lab is working on a handy device for us."

"More of an array, actually," he corrected with a smile. "Is he, um...?"

"All cleared, I assure you," the Doctor explained, pulling his new company ID from his pocket. Rose took it from his hand and fastened it to his gray suit jacket. When she noticed her actions drawing a subtly sidelong glance from the older man, she swiftly finished it and took a large step back. Best not to appear unprofessionally familiar at work, at least not while he was so new and unproven.

"Ahem, an array, you were saying?" she asked.

"Oh yes, dear. We're trying to pick up on alien transmissions in the area. And I mean all of them, any we can imagine, radio waves to subspace communications. It should help alert us to any unannounced visitors, even if they're cloaked. Even silent observers need to report home, yes? For that matter, we might notice if a given visitor is lying about any kind intentions they claim. Of course, detecting signals is a step away from listening in on them, and that's several steps from actually decoding the words, but it's a worthwhile undertaking."

The Doctor nodded and agreed, "I should say so!"

"We thought you could start by helping him sort the kinks out of their work so far. And, actually, as your boss, I'm telling you that's your first project." She grinned devilishly.

"In this moment of clarity, it's come to me that that's not going to get old for a while, is it?"

"Nope! Now, you two get acquainted. I'm going to go talk to Pete about-" she briefly glanced at Doctor Phelps "-arrangements."

* * *

"Do you want to eat dinner with me?" Rose looked up from her bureaucratic drudgery. She had informed him that the work pileup from her vacation time was taken care of at last, but paperwork springs more eternally than hope ever could.

"Doctor, we live together. We always eat dinner with one another." He cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Well, yeah, but do you want go out?" he asked, trying out a winning smile. To his joy, Rose perked up.

"Oh, sure! I don't think I've taken you to the Italian place on-"

"Um, well, actually, I don't want you to pick it," he quickly rambled. She blinked.

"Um, okay?" He quailed under her confused and offended look.

"Er, no, I didn't mean- What I'm trying to ask is if you want to go on a date. To a place I pick, like a surprise. And I pay." Her eyes widened in understanding.

"Ooooh! Well, pick me up at 7:30? At, um, the kitchen?" Thank goodness, she seemed pleased again.

Imparting a rakish grin, he asserted, "That'll do nicely, yes. Well, I'll leave you to the paperwork, then. See you at 5, for the bus!


	3. Selective Disclosure

**Title:** Full Circle  
**Author:** Shen  
**Rating:** PG-13  
**Setting/Spoilers:** Post-Journey's End  
**Teaser:** "_We're not going to let this stand, are we?"_ Rose is not satisfied with how things turned out on Bad Wolf Bay, but it's a long path back to 10 and the TARDIS. What discoveries and hardships will she and 10.2 find along the way? A JE fixit fic.

**Chapter 3: Selective Disclosure**

"Ready?" the Doctor asked cheerily, stepping into their kitchen. He was looking down at himself and brushing off his new shirt, a shiny light green number with the top two buttons undone. When he'd tried it on at the shop, along with the dark jeans he was also wearing, he couldn't miss the slight dip of the head and rise of the eyebrows that said Rose found it especially attractive. Distressingly new and clean off-white Chucks adorned his feet, however; one couldn't expect a man to change everything in a day. Though, in this reality, Chuck Taylor had gone by Charles Taylor, and since "Charleses" was very awkward to say, people affectionately called them Taylors.

He looked up to get Rose's answer and froze.

"You didn't say what kind of place we were going to, and, well, you know what they say about a little black dress," she explained sheepishly, gesturing vaguely at her form. A sleek, sleeveless, curve-hugging dress with a not-so-daring neckline that made him want to see down it all the more. The chunky silver necklace she wore did nothing to draw his gaze away, either. The Doctor shook himself, trying to cast the thought aside. It'd been far too long since he'd laid his hands on her. But if she needed to be friendly for a while, he could and would do that for her. They'd done enough ignoring of their hormones before she'd caved and pounced on him that one quiet day in the TARDIS, shortly after their unknowingly catastrophic visit to the Torchwood Estate in 1879. He could do it again.

"Something wrong?" Oh, fantastic, now she was staring at him, worried. This wasn't off to a good start. So, he forced one of his easy smiles.

"I'm fine. You've just dazzled me." To his joy, she smiled and blushed. "Are your shoes good for walking? The restaurant's close, but we can take a taxi if you'd prefer."

"No, it's fine. I don't wear any heels I can't run in, the way my luck runs. Learned that from my time with you."

"Well, then, allons-y!" He offered her his arm, and off they went. The restaurant was one that Doctor Phelps had recommended. French cuisine, as it happened, and Rose impressed him by reading the menu with no assistance.

Preening, she explained, "All that French in school didn't go completely to waste; I finished picking up the language a while after getting here. Torchwood likes its personnel to know more than one." They got to chatting about small things, work and Rose's family and redecorating their room in the flat (it wasn't very pink, but it did have an awful lot of pillows and pictures of flowers. Would a picture of a nebula or even a sailboat clash so horribly with the décor?), pausing only to order. As she practiced her French on the man, the Doctor looked on and gulped. Now was as good a time as any, though he hated to ruin the easy rapport they had going. When she looked back at him, his demeanor had sobered.

"Um, I wanted to say sorry," the Doctor slowly began after the waiter left. Rose cocked her head at him.

"Is this about the laundry machine? Y'know, lots of people have put too much soap in the wash, and cleaning up suds isn't so bad. The floor is cleaner than when you started!" she assured him, and he had to chuckle.

"Thank you, Rose. I'm still going to replace that top of yours I dyed pink, by the way-"

"What top?"

"-But that's not what I meant." He gave her a serious look. "You said goodbye to Mickey and Jack, but it wasn't... honest. A quick wave-off amongst a group, figuring on seeing them again soon. And this, what we're doing, could take years, if we get it to work. So... well, just wanted to say I'm sorry." Rose was quiet for a moment.

"Thank you, Doctor. But, nothing we can do about it now!" She smiled weakly.

"But you can talk about it, if you like," he offered softly. A non-sexual relationship between them was acceptable; it was this persistent atmosphere of selective disclosure that needed to be addressed promptly.

She glanced to the side, then down as she spoke, "Pete was pretty upset about it. First Jake, then Mickey and I telling him we wouldn't be coming home." The Doctor nodded, remembering that Jake had passed away about six months before the multiverse crisis. It had been suggested by Rose that it was part of Mickey's reason for returning to his home universe, along with the passing of his gran. Following his best friend to new adventure and old haunts probably seemed like a great idea at that point. Rose continued to ramble, "He tried to look sorry for me when he picked us up at the airport, but you saw him. Happy to see me, and not a little bit because Mum would've been hard to deal with for a while after I'd gone. And he's not close to you yet; you're not a replacement for Mickey and couldn't be anyway, but you falling into his lap was something like a management jackpot." Blast, this was going like every other conversation about that day. Impersonal and indirect, which was distressing with someone he felt so close to. Time for a different tack.

"Well, good to hear Pete's coming out on top! But I was more concerned about you. Your feelings, er, if you wanted to share them. We used to. Share, I mean." ...Well, at least every _other_ syllable of that was direct.

"I..." She winced. "Can we not? I'm just afraid, is all. I miss them, and that makes me less than objective. And I don't blame you for the way things worked out, because there are two of you, but if I get to talking about it, I'm not sure that I'll be exactly stellar at remembering all that." Ah, and out comes the issue. Perhaps a little more than he should get into at a restaurant, but when opportunity knocks...

"You don't blame me?" he asked with slight surprise. Rose opened her mouth to answer, but at his intensified eyebrow-raise, she closed it again for several seconds.

Eventually, she admitted, "At least, not much?" He frowned involuntarily, to his own dismay, and she hurriedly continued, "I've thought about it a lot. This whole situation was partly your idea, too, and I guess I'm mad at you for that. But you didn't demand it. You... suggested." Her gaze shifted away and hardened slightly, clearly seeing the beach in lieu of the restaurant. "We three could have talked it out, you know. Figured something out. I know we were short on time, but I said it, damnit, I said, 'I'm not going back now.' I've been saying it in my dreams ever since." Her voice was thick with threatening tears, but he didn't reach out to comfort her.

Quietly, gruffly, he said, "You also said that I wasn't him." She grabbed his hand across the table, suddenly desperate.

"But I was wrong. I figured it out before he even left, when you told me you loved me, when I kissed you. There's only one kiss like that in the universe." She finally smiled a little, and he managed to return it.

"Don't get me wrong. I don't hate him. I love him. I know exactly why His Stubbornness did it, wrong or not. In a way, it was brave and amazingly unselfish. But because I love him, I want to undo all his hard work. I'd be too guilty to even enjoy this if we were just going to let him be. That makes sense, right?" She tried to make the last remark come off as a joke, but he could see how conflicted she really was. Just then, the food came, so he had a few moments to formulate a response.

"Yes, Rose, it makes sense. You explained it quite admirably right after it happened. You feel sort of responsible for him, don't you?"

"Well, that's a weird way of putting it, but I suppose it makes sense."

"I'm glad we're doing this, you know. Helping him. And if you have some selfish motivation, like, say, traveling in the TARDIS again, don't feel guilty. I'm directly behind you on that idea," he admitted.

"I'm sorry you're stuck in one place." She frowned prettily, and he mustered a grateful smile.

"Back at you. But stuck with you isn't so bad, eh? You once told me the same. Now, our food's getting cold!


	4. Esteem

**Title:** Full Circle  
**Author:** Shen  
**Rating:** PG-13  
**Setting/Spoilers:** Post-Journey's End  
**Teaser:** "_We're not going to let this stand, are we?"_ Rose is not satisfied with how things turned out on Bad Wolf Bay, but it's a long path back to 10 and the TARDIS. What discoveries and hardships will she and 10.2 find along the way? A JE fixit fic.

**Chapter 4: Esteem**

Rose and the Doctor sat back in their seats contentedly. The conversation had been cleansing and the food satisfying, and now they just had to wait for the check.

Rose lightly suggested, "You know, you don't have to pay for all of it." The Doctor bristled a little at that, but she didn't notice, busy looking for the waiter.

Diplomatically, he countered, "You bought the clothes on my back, Rose. The least I can do is a meal once in a while."

"It's alright about that, you know. I didn't have much time to spend money on leisure while I was trying to get back to you, anyway; I had funds to spare."

"That's not the point, and can't you just enjoy it?" he asked a bit snappishly. Taking a breath, he added more calmly, "Buying food is one of the few things I can do for you anymore." Rose gaped in realization and looked extremely apologetic.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to sound ungrateful. And hey, look." She placed her hand over his on the table. "You've given me more experiences and crazy stories than most get in a lifetime. And every day, you give me a smile. You hold me at night. You even have the perturbing new habit of commenting on my outfits, which I assume is something you got from Donna, but I find the advice helpful! You're here, with me, and that's a lot. Don't ever think I value you at anything below brilliant." Well, it was hard to stay angry at that apology.

Still, he petulantly asked, "Is brilliant below magnificent in impressiveness? Because if brilliant's the maximum I achieve, well, that hurts, Rose."

She smacked him on the arm.

* * *

As they walked home, Rose thought. Which she multitasked with chat.

"How are things looking in the supply area?" she asked, swinging their hands between them. In the guise of awaiting his answer she looked closely at his face.

"Well, with my free time, I'm meant to help the archives personnel categorize salvaged technology. It's launching – or relaunching - all kinds of research where they'd plateaued before. In return, Pete's letting me use some of what I find for my own purposes." That face. Twinkling brown eyes, that giddy grin he wore whenever he discussed tinkering and machinery, hair to die for. Then, she thought about how that face made her feel.

"Makes sense," Rose commented. Love was what she felt. There wasn't even a question. "He wouldn't be able to use any of it if you weren't here to identify it." The Doctor smiled smugly.

"Right! So, there's hope yet. Though, if you don't mind, I'm going to try and make a sonic screwdriver before I really get cracking on our project. One will help the other anyway." Then she thought about the debacle with the meal bill, which had brought something to her attention. The Doctor's self esteem was probably suffering. He used to haul her around the universe, ultimate tour guide, needing and wanting for nothing. Now, he only knew his way around town in so far as she'd shown him, at least the parts that were different from the other universe. She'd even gotten him his job. All in all, it was more than fair for him to lean on her for a few weeks, especially considering what he'd lost. But a "superior" Time Lord wouldn't see it that way. She could forgive it though; one loves a person for his flaws.

She leaned her head onto his shoulder briefly and teased, "That's fine. I understand. Without the sonic, it must be like you've lost a limb."

"Well, not like a whole hand, but sort of like a thumb, yes." So why were they keeping an emotional distance? Cuddling at night but barely sharing a peck? Guilt was a large part. Intellectually, she understood that they were doing everything they could for the other Doctor, and that it would be silly to not enjoy their time together. It might actually be an insult to the other Doctor, in a way. Emotionally, all that was much harder to comprehend, but she had to make an attempt. And she knew just the perfect way to kick off her renewed effort.

"Doctor?" She slowed down, drawing him with her.

"Yes?" he asked blithely, looking down at her. She kissed him gently, but before she knew it, his hands were at her waist and pulling her close, and his tongue pushed into her mouth, and it was overwhelming, the pervasiveness of him, but it could never be too much.

"Would-" she took a breath, "would you like to make love?" The question, suddenly seeming a bit silly, came out of her mouth anyway before her brain could catch up. Trying to put a coy spin to it, she smiled seductively. It felt less impressive than it might have, however, seeing as he'd pulled her off-balance and left her leaning heavily into him.

He grinned back, with just a trace of smugness, and bent in to kiss her again.

They barely made it back to the flat fully clothed.

* * *

They lay side by side, letting their breathing slow.

"That was different. This body, I mean. I can't... I can't smell or taste you quite the same, but that lack of stimulation is made up for in... tactile fashion." He turned his head towards her. "Sorry. It's still a bit new. I'll last longer next time." Rose let out a short laugh.

"Did I seem like I was suffering for it? It's been far too long. Let's never, ever go that long again."

"I vote we keep five days as the maximum interval. And that's only because of your menses."

"Done. What have we been thinking these three weeks?" she agreed, rolling onto her side to face him. Immediately, he pulled her close, but he didn't tuck her into his side yet. Instead, he looked her in the face.

"Oh, Rose," he began, awed, "The woman you've become, there's been so much change. Nice new hair. Sexy new look." She giggled happily at his compliments. "A little harder for your experience, but you make red tape your dog and feed it biscuits, and heaven help me, I find even that attractive. But you know what? You're the same. You're the woman I fell in love with, 100, and nothing will ever make me stop. When I think of the last time we did this..." he trailed off, and Rose took the opportunity to kiss him softly. It brought a smile. "It's the same, in all the right ways. I swear, even your body," he trailed a hand lightly down her side, making her shiver, "nary a detail of difference that matters. And that's priceless to me."

"You sweet-talker. You know just what to say to a girl who hasn't seen her lover in years." She found his hand and squeezed it. "And don't doubt we'll be like this always," she assured him. "Outside doesn't matter; little changes don't matter. I love you." It was the first time she'd said it directly, and his eyes widened with understated joy.

"I love you, too. Though like I said, your outside, I wonder if it's changed even a bit." Before she knew what was happening, Rose was on her back, and the Doctor's face was poised over her stomach. "I bet you're still ticklish precisely here!" He blew on the skin, making her shudder all over. Then, before she could push him away, his hands began a tickle assault of epic proportions.


	5. Contact

**Title:** Full Circle  
**Author:** Shen  
**Rating:** PG-13  
**Setting/Spoilers:** Post-Journey's End  
**Teaser:** "_We're not going to let this stand, are we?"_ Rose is not satisfied with how things turned out on Bad Wolf Bay, but it's a long path back to 10 and the TARDIS. What discoveries and hardships will she and 10.2 find along the way? A JE fixit fic.  
**Author's Note:** How about a little action?

**Chapter 5: Contact**

_ZZDT ZZDT ZZDT_

Rose jerked awake. The flat phone was ringing. Except, this universe's phones buzzed, so it was buzzing. She rolled over to look at her clock. Three eighteen am.

_ZZDT ZZ-_ she propped herself up and snatched the phone off the cradle posthaste. At this hour, it likely wasn't anything good.

"Tyler," she answered shortly. And things were beyond not-good. They had passed Go, gone 'round the bend, and sprang a leak in Water Works.

She gave some terse orders and hung up, then put her hand on the Doctor's chest and shook him. He muttered a few incoherent syllables but otherwise didn't twitch. She sighed.

"Half-human Doctor, the heavy sleeper. A bloody monkey's uncle's pet rock," Rose muttered crankily before yelling, "Oi! Van Winkle, up and at 'em!"

"Uwah?"

"Come on; get dressed. Aliens, above. Looks like they're sending down smaller ships, and those'll be over the city any minute. We've got to go."

Now wide awake, the Doctor asked, "Do we know what they look like? What they're planning?" They were both hauling on clothing in businesslike fashion.

"Not even a blip on the radar until ten minutes ago."

"But the Extra-Atmospheric Omni-Array should catch something! I fixed it; it can pick up _anything!_" he countered indignantly. ExAtOA for short. Doctor Phelps, apparently, had no talent for naming things to allow for good acronyms.

"Well, it didn't," she said shortly. "Let's go; there'll be a car for us outside." She didn't blame him. If he couldn't make the machine work, no one could have, but she didn't have time to argue with his ego, either. A minute later, they were both in a Torchwood vehicle on the way to headquarters, each on their mobiles. Rose heard the Doctor in the back seat, impatiently ordering whatever scientist was on duty at this hour to do various things to try and get the array working. She, on the other hand, was getting a full report on the situation and available resources so she could work with Pete and the other higher-ups to organize a counter to... whatever it was these aliens were planning. He'd already informed UNIT to put the nearest base on alert, should something need to be shot down.

"Look!" Rose registered the sound of the Doctor's mobile snapping shut a half-second after he'd pushed himself between the front seats, pointing. She followed his hand to see a cluster of lights in the sky. They split up, and one flew almost directly for the car, it seemed. "Probes or fighters; I can't tell from here."

"They're not answering our queries on any frequency; I doubt they're from an outer space wildlife documentary program."

"Do you see that?!" exclaimed the driver. The nearest ship shot a beam of green light at a car several blocks up, causing it to explode, then flew around in a circle as if celebrating or playing. Mucking about. Then, before Rose could form a sentence to adequately express her disgust, a burst of blue shot out of Torchwood Tower, engulfed the fighter in pulsing light, and took it down. Rose winced.

"We're not supposed to have that. The president's going to be cross." The fighter – forest green and gray, she could see now – landed hard, bouncing off a building before tearing into asphalt.

"Go! I need to investigate," ordered the Doctor. The driver looked at Rose, who nodded. Any kind of intel would be of value at this point. It only took a few moments to get to the wreckage, which was largely intact. Chiefly cylindrical in shape, it had a bubble-shaped cockpit that was unnaturally close to the ground, the ship having rolled sideways upon impact. All three Torchwood personnel hopped out of the car, and Rose ordered the driver to keep the civilians back. The Doctor was already running around the ship, examining it from every angle. Next, he pulled out his new sonic screwdriver – a little bigger and less sleek than his last one, and not as excessively programmed, but functional – and opened the cockpit. It was empty.

"This hatch wasn't opened before we got here. He must've teleported out," he mused, looking up at the sky. "Might be an automatic protocol."

"Not a hive mind race, then. They value life, at least their own," Rose observed. The Doctor was already rummaging inside with his screwdriver, and Rose called headquarters again to give them an update.

"Maybe. It's damaged," he called out, head half-buried under the equivalent of a dashboard, "but we could use it. It can send up at least two, I think, though it won't be precise. Actually," he pulled his head out and stood up, "we wouldn't want it to be anyway. We'd end up in their barracks or medical bay or wherever it is they want their downed pilots to appear. For all we know, an incinerator, as punishment for failing." Bright flashes of white, blue, and green lights reflected off the windows of nearby buildings, signifying increasing chaos in other parts of the city.

Rose asked, "But if it's broken, can't we end up outside the ship? You know, in space?" A harsh rumbling almost drowned out the last word; another fighter had been shot down. London might dispatch of this first wave yet! Still, that was only good news until the aliens threw something else at them.

"The receiver for this short-range teleport will be in the center of the ship for that very reason. And you can't materialize inside a wall with this model, either, so that's good. We'll most likely be fine."

"Most likely?!" The Doctor ignored her and called the driver over. He gave a few final sweeps with the sonic screwdriver and tweaked the set of some hastily rearranged circuitry, then explained to the man what to do to get the teleport working.

"Get marines in, immediately, with Torchwood support," Rose said into her mobile before shutting it. "This is excellent, Doctor; we can take them down from the inside."

"Yes indeed! But we'll be the trailblazers." Suddenly, he sat against the sideways seat and pulled her forward into his lap. Rose felt a jostle, then tingling all over as the ship faded away and was abruptly replaced with blue, grainy-looking walls. The couple landed on the ground with a thud and a pair of grunts. Rose quickly scrambled up and pulled her service pistol out of her jeans, sparing the Doctor a brief glare.

After making sure no one was coming to investigate the noise, she whispered, "Oh, real nice. Alone and lucky we're not shot to pieces." The Doctor brought the sonic to bear and began searching the walls for something to use it on.

"Aw, come on. When did we ever need anything more than a sonic screwdriver and our own quick wit?"

Dryly, she answered, "The psychic paper helped sometimes. So, what's your master plan?" They moved methodically down the hallway, now both searching the walls for panels and doors.

"Well, your marines will be here soon, but first I thought we'd do what we always do."

"Negotiate? I suppose we should," she grumbled. Attempting to stop the altercation without bloodshed. She couldn't expect him to operate any other way, and she honestly agreed with the ideal behind it. Besides, if she was right, and they weren't a hive mind, there was a chance they could be reasoned with. Still... "But next time, you ask before you haul me thousands of miles above the planet. I'm technically your boss, you know."

"Write me up for insubordination."

"I might just." She allowed herself one more scowl before pushing the aggression aside. There would be time to argue later.

They worked quickly and silently for another 30 seconds before the wall opened up three meters ahead of them, and two bipedal creatures stepped out. There was a moment where all four beings stared at each other, equally dumbfounded, before the newcomers drew blasters from their holsters. Rose kept her weapon trained on them in return.

"Take us to your leader?" asked the Doctor with a winning smile.


	6. Negotiations

**Title:** Full Circle  
**Author:** Shen  
**Rating:** PG-13  
**Setting/Spoilers:** Post-Journey's End  
**Teaser:** "_We're not going to let this stand, are we?"_ Rose is not satisfied with how things turned out on Bad Wolf Bay, but it's a long path back to 10 and the TARDIS. What discoveries and hardships will she and 10.2 find along the way? A JE fixit fic.  
**Author's Note:** This one has a little illustration!

**Chapter 6: Negotiations**

Rose and the Doctor walked down a grainy blue corridor, accompanied by a pair of lanky aliens. Their arms were spindly and had an extra joint, and their legs were extremely long, going up and back before going down, reminding Rose of an insect. The species' scale-covered bodies seemed to be varying shades of brown, with eyes like a hawk's and a surprisingly humanlike head, considering the rest of its shape. Features in the right places and proportions, just sort of pointy on top.

IMAGE: i253 dot photobucket dot com/albums/hh52/shengirl/FullCircleMonster dot png

These two in particular appeared more confused than anything, having found two random earthling intruders outside the kitchens. They couldn't even speak to the pink, fleshy beasts and so deemed it prudent to take them... somewhere. Rose hoped it wasn't a fiery death. Or any other variety of demise.

They passed by other aliens, who all stared or waved them by until the quartet stood before a large set of double doors. They opened.

"Snaaarkikikah!" someone growled loudly. Moments later, Rose and the Doctor stood at gunpoint before the one she assumed to be the captain, and their escorts were being chewed out. Which made sense. She certainly wouldn't want to be interrupted from managing a planetary invasion to gawk at creatures she couldn't understand. It was a strange kind of yelling, however, as it had long pauses where the victims just cringed or shuddered.

Then, the Doctor made a bizarre kind of snarly noise. The captain stopped yelling and looked at him. The Doctor tried the noise – phrase? - again, but the captain shook his head and tried a different sound. After going back and forth a few times, they found a language they both spoke.

* * *

"How did you get here?" asked the captain. Finally, something the Doctor understood! Yet another reason to miss the TARDIS: alternate universe alien languages. Especially in this case, where there was more than one tier to the species' communications. He had a hunch about those long silences in the captain's tirades, supported by a strange niggling in the back of his mind.

"That's not important. What's important is that you need to stop attacking that planet down there," he said confidently.

"What's going on? Did you tell him to stop attacking?" Rose asked. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

"Of course; what else would I do?" She grimaced but didn't snap back.

"Sorry; not used to being out of the loop. Tell him we can work out a trade agreement if there's something they need, and that it's bound to be cheaper than conquering us. Our planet's only shown part of its resistance." The Doctor delivered the message, but the captain made what he assumed was a derisive noise. It actually sounded a lot like a hiccup.

"No chance. The planet can be subdued with minimum casualty if we do it correctly, the populace cowed and prepared to sell as slaves. Or, if not, kill them all. It is still worth it to harvest the air, water, and other resources. We even have a menagerie on standby, waiting for any unique animals we find. Though I don't know why you're concerned about that piddling sphere. You two aren't even human."

"What?" the Doctor asked, nonplussed.

"I've met a human. Picked up from one of your livestock fields when we first located this planet. You two don't smell like that one. Don't try to fool me with your looks! Now why are you really here?" he asked menacingly. The Doctor wanted to inquire further about the captain's dubious observation, but he could feel Rose boring a hole in his skull with her eyes.

He turned to her and said in English, "Unless you have a significantly scarier weapon to show off, he doesn't seem interested in budging. They just want to bulldoze the primary species and take what you won't need anymore when you're dead or enslaved."

"Peachy," Rose responded. The Doctor turned to the captain to try another argument, but he stopped with his mouth open to speak.

"Oh, hello!" he exclaimed in English. He tilted his head to better look past the captain. "Well, that explains it then! I'd recognize that anywhere; it's a psychic booster. This race is telepathic; they don't use any communications ExAtOA would be capable of picking up!" Connections rapidly fused in his head. The pauses in yelling must've signified mental discourse! Perhaps that was how they transferred more articulate ideas, and their rough, growling speech was more for punctuation. It was funny, since they didn't seem like a very cerebral race, but their mouths weren't exactly suited to expressing complex ideas, either.

"That's very exciting for your professional ego, Doctor," Rose said... affectionately? That was a strange emotion considering their predicament. "But you don't need to worry about that any longer." What?

Just then, there was shouting and stomping, and Rose was pulling him to the floor. Gunfire assaulted his ears, forming a cacophony with screams and the sparking of ruined electronics. Marines! It was over alarmingly fast, and when it was, Rose looked over to him.

"I activated the signal emitter on my mobile so they could find the bridge, and I had the mic open. They heard when you said there wasn't hope of negotiation." He gawked, surprised to be so suddenly alive and safe. Oh, his clever girl!

* * *

Overall, Rose was pleased. It had been a nice, if impromptu, bit of teamwork. He made a teleport, they two had "found" the bridge, he'd distracted the captain from pressing the planetary attack further, long enough for earth weapons to mop up the few fighters he'd launched, and she'd brought in the big guns.

And at the moment, the object of her affections was inspecting the console of the ship and muttering about shoddy shooting. He was also receiving a few glares from the soldiers.

"You know, we're lucky this ship doesn't fall out of orbit and crash into the Earth. They could have destroyed something really important! As it is..."

"Maybe you can find something worth cannibalizing or studying. Maybe even something for ExAtOA?" she suggested lightly.

"Maybe. Would've probably gotten more out of it if they'd made a deal. I hate a failed negotiation; it's a waste of life." He returned to broodingly rummaging and using his sonic. Other Torchwood technicians started flowing into the room, some looking extremely gleeful. Rose rolled her eyes at them.

"What else did you talk about, anyway? I know it didn't take that long to say, 'No, we're not making a deal.'"

"Hm? Oh. He said we didn't smell human. Bit rude of him to point out, don't you think?" he answered distractedly. She asked if it was both of them, and he nodded.

Brow furrowing in confusion, Rose suggested, "Maybe I just have your smell on me. We were sleeping in the same bed less than an hour ago."

"Or he was just bad at it." Something about the mocking tone made Rose laugh, and he couldn't keep his lip from twitching in response.

Hours later, after sorting everything out at headquarters, they were allowed to go home and catch some more sleep. Rose had been drowsily looking out the window of the car driving them home, but she turned around to catch the Doctor looking at something small and mostly metallic in his hand. She didn't recognize the shape, and he placed it back into his pocket before a better look could be had.

"What is that?" she asked quietly, so the driver wouldn't hear. "And how did you sneak it off the ship? You were surrounded by overeager technicians, swarming like- like piranhas on a jaguar-bitten tourist." He just blinked at her.

"Look, I can't have brilliant metaphors all the time," she griped, stifling a yawn. He smiled at that.

"Similes, actually. And since you asked, I have a +3 to all dexterity checks – which you'd know, from the bedroom – and sleight of hand is a class skill for Time Lords. I might've cross-classed to the Torchwood Agent prestige class, but I still retain old proficiencies and ranks." It was Rose's turn to stare at him blankly.

"...I'm going to maim Barry for getting you to play RPGs with them."

"You're the one who said I should go on a guys' night and make friends. Though, actually, Barry's wife plays, too. I'd ask you to come with me next time, but it's a terrible game master that doesn't understand anything about spacio-temporal physics or faster than light engines. Frustrating," he rambled lightly.

"Right. Well, by that dramatic change of subject, I gather you're not going to tell me anything about the...whatsit. Whatever, just don't catch anything on fire at our place. Again," she teased wryly. Then, she went back to watching the world go by, now thinking about their place. Theirs to share, chosen and decorated together. The thought prompted a smile.

"...Are you really going to write me up?" With their dual incomes, they had gotten a new flat some weeks back, and it had a room for the Doctor to build things in. Though it was his, Rose rather liked it. When she wandered in to chat with him, he delighted in explaining what each device or experiment did and a bit about how it worked, and she liked watching him work with his hands. It reminded her of being on the TARDIS.

"Are you kidding? You practically kidnapped me; you're lucky I don't suspend you. And don't pout! Favoritism is wrong."

He worked hard on their main project, getting back to the other Doctor, but that was mostly still in the planning and gathering stage. She sincerely hoped the dead ship in orbit could help it along. Meanwhile, his toys at home were more likely to be an eyeglass washer, impossibly long-lasting batteries for their mobiles, or a toaster that worked by sensing the color of the toasted product, rather than on a timer. It was that latter desire for perfectly-browned bread that had caused a small fire, but she wasn't one to kid herself about such things. She'd written off the cleaning deposit on the flat as soon as it left her hands.

"You won't tell Mickey when we see him again, though, right? You have to leave me some pride."

Destructive, proud, silly, brilliant, loving man. Every girl should have one. With that thought, she reached out and took the Doctor's hand, holding it until they reached home.


	7. Watch

**Title:** Full Circle  
**Author:** Shen  
**Rating:** PG-13  
**Setting/Spoilers:** Post-Journey's End  
**Teaser:** "_We're not going to let this stand, are we?"_ Rose is not satisfied with how things turned out on Bad Wolf Bay, but it's a long path back to 10 and the TARDIS. What discoveries and hardships will she and 10.2 find along the way? A JE fixit fic.  
**Author's Note:** Stick with me; I swear I'm going somewhere with this.

**Chapter 7: Watch**

"Shit! They're slippery wankers," Derek wailed in exasperation. Then, he frantically threw himself to the ground, dodging a gob of fast-hardening mucous. "And nasty!"

Rose ducked another wad of horrific origin and shot the Doctor a despairing glance. Some days, working for Torchwood wasn't worth the pay. Not because it paid poorly but because no one should ever end up kneeling behind a sideways table in an abandoned house, trying not to be glued in place or smothered with mucous launched by swift, demonic-looking, orange aliens.

The nuisances had been using the house as a lair, but all of them had been caught or killed. Except for McSnotty the Tenacious here, who had backed Rose's team into a corner of the living room.

A loud thwack reached Rose's ears, along with a cry of, "Backup!" from the direction of the door. Next, mercifully, came the buzzing and crackling of stunners. The other Torchwood team caught the creature from behind; it never had a chance.

"Thank you," commented the Doctor as he stood up and brushed himself off. "I was deeply disinterested in trying to get the organic version of rubber cement out of another set of trousers." One of his favorite pairs had been a casualty of the hunt the day before. The leader of the other team, Dwayne, gave a thumbs-up and a happy nod. He enjoyed saving the day and would probably be amiably smug about it for the next few days.

"Tell you what; you can pay my next dry-cleaning tab, and we'll be even," he joked. Meanwhile, his team worked on restraining the unconscious beast for transport to Torchwood HQ, wincing all the while at having to touch its sticky skin.

"I'll pay it," said Rose as she walked up to the men, taking the Doctor's hand in her own. "It's worth it. You saved me a lot of whining."

"Hey now!" chided the Doctor without any real annoyance, and she bumped her hip into his playfully. They shared a post-adventure grin, the kind that accompanied an adrenaline comedown and preceded the inevitable paperwork.

"That was the last, right?" asked a put-upon agent that was helping to haul the alien out the door.

"Should be," answered Rose. "We've certainly dealt with enough of them already." The Doctor and Dwayne began to examine the room, and her other team members, Larry and Derek, left the room to do a last sweep of the rest of the first floor.

"Interesting how they made nests with their projectile... substance," observed the Doctor, poking at such a structure with a detached table leg.

"Because nothing says home like moldy clothing, mucous, and- are those animal bones? And fur?" she asked, surprised and disgusted. She hadn't had time to examine the mounds closely earlier. The Doctor shot her an amused glance.

Then Dwayne, who had been poking around like the Doctor, froze and stood up very slowly. And if his unusual actions hadn't caught her eye, his wide, alarmed eyes would have.

"Wait a minute." He looked around the room, backing towards the stairs to get a better perspective.

Concern making her impatient, Rose prompted, "What? What is it?" She sensed that the Doctor had stood up beside her, but she kept her eyes on Dwayne, who finally made eye contact back.

"I count four nests. And that little terror was number seven, right? We don't know that all of these things have mates, but we sho-"

"Look out!" the Doctor cried urgently. Movement flashed on the stairs, Dwayne turning to see, but too slow, far too slow. CRACK as it blew through the wooden railing, REEE as it took brief flight, talons flashing in sunlight that flowed through the open door. Rose rapidly brought her weapon to bear, but another blur of motion was seen even before she could shoot. The Doctor had thrown himself forward and now shoved Dwayne against the stairs. The creature fell where Dwayne had stood, crashing into the Doctor even as Rose began to unload her weapon into it.

In a moment, it went still, and Rose rushed over. She and a recovered Dwayne shoved it off the Doctor, and she couldn't help but gasp at what she saw. The brutal impact had sunk one of the creatures claws into his chest, and though it had been shot in between withdrawing the weapon and attacking again, things did not look good. He lay gasping, eyes wild with pain. She fell on her knees beside him, pressing her hands over the wound.

"Oh my god, you- Just hold on, alright?" she exclaimed frantically. He turned his head and managed to focus on her through the agony. Larry, the physician on her team, appeared and knelt at his other side.

"Not this time. I'm sorr-" the Doctor rasped, cut off by coughing. Rose stared despondently at the blood leaking through her fingers, dying his blue top black as it leeched color from his very skin. This couldn't be happening.

"Don't say that!" she argued. Larry pushed her fingers away to cover the wound with a dressing, but when she made eye contact with the man, his eyes looked haunted. He shook his head, at a loss for words.

"Done it- ten times. Know what it feels like." Speaking was getting harder for the Doctor. She grabbed his hand in her own bloodied ones, squeezing fiercely.

Brokenly, she protested, "Doctor, no, you can't." Real regret poured from his eyes even as they relaxed from their round, wild state. Paradoxically, the thought that he was feeling less pain filled Rose with horror.

Reaching out to stroke her cheek, he said, "I'm sorry... but you'll be okay. More than okay, you have to be fantastic."

"I-" she croaked, suddenly at a loss. Whole segments of her brain were numb. She felt as if on the precipice of catatonia.

"Go on, Rose, and find him. Do it for me."

Finally, it all spilled out, "You need to know, before- I need you to know you're not replaceable. I love you, and all this time together, I wouldn't have missed it. My Doctor. You'll always be my Doctor." Her tone was desperate, _needing_ him to understand. She kissed his fingers, then pressed her lips to his. It had all the love and comfort she could transmit, but it wasn't long. His breath came shorter, now.

Gaze boring into her with earnest feeling, he said, "I love you, Rose. Take this." His free hand fumbled at his open jacket's pocket and pulled out what looked like a watch. Rose gently took it from his hand, keeping their other hands locked. "It-" he stopped and formed a pained grimace, and now Rose couldn't hold back a sob. "Just keep it with you. Show the other me. Promise me." His eyes were wide again, and she could sense how important this was to him even while her heart was breaking.

"I promise, Doctor; I love you and I- Doctor?!" he'd released a rasping breath and not taken another. His eyes froze as they'd been.

"Doctor!" she cried in anguish.


	8. Loose Ends

**Title:** Full Circle  
**Author:** Shen  
**Rating:** PG-13  
**Setting/Spoilers:** Post-Journey's End  
**Teaser:** "_We're not going to let this stand, are we?"_ Rose is not satisfied with how things turned out on Bad Wolf Bay, but it's a long path back to 10 and the TARDIS. What discoveries and hardships will she and 10.2 find along the way? A JE fixit fic.

**Chapter 8: Loose Ends**

The Doctor activated the dematerialization sequence in a fog. The loss of Donna fell as a harsh blow to his already damaged spirit. It had happened so fast, from the metacrisis to the moment she started falling apart before his eyes. All for an accident, a serendipitous one for the universe, but... And there wasn't _time._ Not to stabilize her or even to talk about it. So he'd taken without asking, tampering with her brain and feeling like a monster all the while.

Still, he comforted himself with the fact that he had no choice. He couldn't watch her die, and besides, what good would her memories have been to her if he had? She'd... be fine. Definitely. Wilf would make sure. No doubt.

Then there was Rose. And on that subject, he was rapidly realizing how less simple the decision had been. Which was impressive. He thought there would be closure. After all, he had certainty, now, that Rose would be happy. She had what she always wanted – more, in a way. While the other him had some Donna mixed in, it was nothing she couldn't handle and a small price to pay to grow old with him. Perhaps have his children.

So why was he so raw? Was the wound too new? A limb had just been ripped from him, the final sinew snapping when Rose had kissed the other him. Perhaps time would close the stump, though he wished he could cauterize it. Obliterate the pain with one hot burst. Maybe the fires of his next regeneration would do the trick. But he wasn't even sure of that.

He held a fervent wish for oblivion, but his mind clamored too loudly for sleep. So he stood, dripping on the grating of the console room, staring at the controls for several minutes. Then, he set a course. There was one more loose end to the day.

He dried his suit and changed his shirt, figuring there was no need to appear as a damp, shivering creature reminiscent of a puppy in the rain. Then, he landed his ship inside Torchwood.

* * *

"Look who it is!" exclaimed Mickey as the Doctor walked out of the TARDIS.

Jack chimed in, "Hey, you crazy... kids?" His voice started high and cheery, but halfway through the sentence, his smile faded and voice lowered. He tilted his head to glance behind the Doctor, but the Time Lord pulled the door shut behind him.

"Doctor? Where is everyone?" Jack tried to phrase it neutrally, as if they might be off shopping or sleeping. However, he could tell by the dismal look on the handsome face that it wasn't that simple. He and Mickey had literally just separated from Martha and gotten back from the multiverse crisis, but there was no telling how long it'd been for the Doctor. Anything could have happened. Had someone died? Had Rose and the other Doctor ditched this one? Though that was absurd; why would he think that? For that matter, which Doctor was this? He was dimly aware of Gwen and Ianto slinking off somewhere, probably to view the drama from a safe distance rather than actually leave them to their privacy.

Slowly, the Doctor said, "Donna's physiology couldn't cope with the metacrisis. It was burning up her mind. I had to take away the Time Lord information and... anything related to it. She's back with her parents, and you can't bring up anything about me or time travel, alright? If she remembers her time with me, she might revive the forbidden information, and I won't be there to stop her mind overloading." The explanation was given flatly, as if thinking about and feeling the words as he said them would have been too much.

Jack walked up and put a hand on the Doctor's shoulder, but he wouldn't look the former time agent in the eye. He just stood at a slight angle to Jack's body, looking down and away. The defeated, empty body language even moved Mickey to speech.

"I'm sorry," he offered. The Doctor nodded. And now Jack felt very frightened, because Rose wouldn't leave him alone in this state, not for all the clearance sales in the universe. He took a breath and steeled his long-toiling heart before speaking.

"Where's Rose? And the other you? You're the Time Lord, if you could wipe Donna's memories, but where's the human hybrid?"

"Rose is back home, and the other one with her," he answered in the same bland tone. Jack gaped openly.

"...She left you?" His voice cracked in the asking.

"No," interrupted Mickey. The lowness of his tone turned Jack's head, and he saw that the younger man was glaring daggers. "She wouldn't, would she, Doctor? You shoved her off again, after all we did to get back here." The Doctor met Mickey's eyes at last, but he backed away from Jack, beginning to look cornered.

"I couldn't keep my clone on the TARDIS with me. He's unstable. I gave him to Rose. They need each other. She can grow old with him!" The rambling came out as a disjointed list of rationalizations, and Jack suspected the Doctor had run through them in his head many times.

"And did she agree to it?" Mickey pressed. Jack took a step back from the Doctor and watched his face warily. It contorted in pain a moment before answering.

"As much as," he choked out.

Jack joined in, "But did she say it?" The Doctor's silence was answer enough. "She's... she's our Rose. How could you?!"

"I thought I was coming home with her. That I'd see her sometimes. You couldn't even tell us so we could get a proper goodbye?"

"All these years I've wanted to see Rose, have the heart-to-heart we need, but today I figured, 'Oh, this day is ridiculously busy; I'll put it off until the next time we have tea,' and you... you..." Jack trailed off, words failing him. Mickey locked eyes with him, his expression softer than Jack anticipated..

"Stop." Excuse him?

Jack turned away from the Doctor to argue, "He threw one of our best friends out of the TARDIS and didn't even let us say goodbye, as you said. Dropped her off in the permanent no-no land." Mickey nodded, and Jack could see by the set of his jaw that he hadn't actually forgiven anything that quickly.

"But what's the point of chewing him out over it? Look at him." Jack did. The man could barely muster a facial expression. He looked about ready to pass out from exhaustion and stress. "He'll suffer for it more than either of us."

Jack began to see Mickey's wisdom, but he added quietly, so the Doctor wouldn't hear, "At his choice. We didn't even get warning, nevermind a say."

"His choice? You're right. And all the worse it'll be for him because of it." The two humans shared a bitter look, rankled by their impotence in the matter.

"Right," said the Doctor stiffly. "I came to tell you to avoid Donna. Be good chaps and tell the others." He turned around to get back onto the TARDIS, but the room was overtaken with a flash of light concentrated in the space between him and the ship. When Jack opened his eyes, he saw that Rose Tyler had appeared in that very spot.


	9. Good News, Bad News

**Title:** Full Circle  
**Author:** Shen  
**Rating:** PG-13  
**Setting/Spoilers:** Post-Journey's End  
**Teaser:** "_We're not going to let this stand, are we?"_ Rose is not satisfied with how things turned out on Bad Wolf Bay, but it's a long path back to 10 and the TARDIS. What discoveries and hardships will she and 10.2 find along the way? A JE fixit fic.

**Chapter 9: Good News, Bad News**

The Doctor gawped. There wasn't a more appropriate word for it. Less than an hour after bidding her farewell, Rose stood before him. She looked shocked and vulnerable for a moment, but then he saw her steel herself into a more neutral expression.

"You're here," he said intelligently.

"Here and not going anywhere, so don't ask. Can't go back."

"I won't," the Doctor said softly, ignoring her argumentative tone. He walked up to her slowly, as if expecting her to disappear any second, but when he got to her, his arms curled around her form tightly. He had never intended to see her again, but given the opportunity, he wouldn't resist a hug. However, to his dismay, she stiffened slightly at the motion. He stepped back, perturbed. She stared at him, eyes wide and wary, and Mickey and Jack kept their silence behind him.

Picking a random question of the million rolling around his head, he asked, "Where's the other Doctor?"

"He's dead," she answered, and her voice hitched at the end. A sniffle followed, and she closed her eyes for a second to keep tears at bay. "Sorry, it's very new still."

"Don't... apologize," he forced out mechanically, taken aback. How could this happen? They were supposed to be okay. Live til old age and be happy; that's what he'd left them to have. But stuck in a forbidden land, they were Schroedinger's couple, and this, he supposed, was the unsightly outcome of opening the box. He was forced to acknowledge that his sacrifice had no guarantee of a positive ending. Mentally shaking off his shock, his eyes met Rose's. They held a great deal of pain, and he felt guilty for dwelling on his own.

Putting his hands on her upper arms, he looked at her earnestly and said, "I'm so sorry."

"You left us. You just left us, and..." the torn sound of her voice constricted his hearts in his chest. In that moment, he didn't know what to say. Then, he heard the _tck tck_ of heavy shoes coming towards them, ringing out in the silence.

"How did you get back?" asked Jack softly. It was a neutral question and good for distancing the conversation from high emotions. Give him a few minutes to rally himself.

Rose wiped her eyes and glanced to the side as she started, "It was pretty simple, actually, in concept. We already had a dimension cannon. The walls between dimensions were closed, true, but only after the TARDIS left and finished closing them. Which was just a minute ago. All we had to do was make a time machine. Nothing fancy, just good enough for one trip back, carrying us and the cannon, and one trip forward so we didn't leave advanced technology in the past. It probably landed back in the future as a charred mass, but that's most likely for the best. He was almost done constructing it when he died. I was able to follow the plans he left to finish it."

"Was it a mission?" inquired Mickey.

"Yeah."

"But Rose, that should have taken years," commented the Doctor, confused. For some reason, this made Rose grow angry.

"And how long would you guess it's been?"

"You..." He scrutinized her carefully. "You don't look any older at all."

"Well, surprise, it's been eleven years, and I'm barely showing a day." The Doctor's jaw dropped again, and suddenly, a fresh wave of guilt slammed into him, almost making him stagger. Rose must have noticed because, taking a breath, she backed off the angry outburst and spoke more gently, explaining, "You left me with a Doctor that would age with me, except that I don't age like a human anymore. I would have outlived him no matter what. Not that you ever bothered to check to see if something was different about me after Bad Wolf." Oh, Rassilon. Could it all be true? It was a good thing the other Doctor helped her get back, or she would have been alone for a very, very long time. The Doctor gave her a deeply apologetic look, and to his surprise she stopped scowling and smiled ruefully.

She then assured him, "Okay, that wasn't fair of me. It's my body; I should have insisted you check it once I got the whole story. It's long past, anyway, and when I figured it out, a few months after I saw you last, I never regretted it. Because I knew I was coming back to you."

"I can barely believe it. You don't age? Age slowly? Doesn't matter; it's brilliant news. To think what you almost had to go through alone... I can't be thankful enough to the other me for bringing you back to me." Emboldened by such good news, he went to hug her again, but this time she stepped back. Hurt, he blinked at her, and she winced.

"Look, I understand why you did it. Please don't think I don't. It's enraging and brave, and you did it because you love me. Even if you can't say it. But I'm going to need time, alright? There's... only so much a woman can take. Only so many times losing the same man. For a while, I wasn't sure if I should- if I could- but I promised him I'd find you. And I trusted him on that." The Doctor was split between mentally thanking his other self for that and despairing at the idea of not being able to touch Rose while she was right in front of him.

She rambled on, "But it's confusing, too, you know? You're him, the same man, but there's all these memories, all these years between you, and all I have of that time is this." She pulled something out of her pocket that made the Doctor's eyes widen into saucers.

"Holy what!" exclaimed Jack. Rose blinked at him, alarmed. "I've seen one of those before. Rose, does it do anything? Besides tell time?"

"Um, it doesn't tell time, actually; it just sort of glows. When I open it, an orangey-yellow. And... this probably sounds stupid and sentimental, but I can feel him beside me, almost. It's the strangest thing, probably all in my head, but it's valuable to me." She looked down at the object. "He gave it to me right before he died and told me to show it to this Doctor. It glowed the brightest just then."

Seriously, the Doctor explained, "Rose, it's not all in your head." She looked up at him sharply, intrigued. He continued, "That fobwatch holds part of the other me, and I mean more than just a whisper or a shadow to remember me by. It's his entire essence, including his memories. In a way, he saved himself." The Master would be impressed. And amused, probably, as much as the Doctor had given recrimination to him for avoiding death, but the Doctor hadn't killed anyone to do it. Besides, it was an act of love.

"What good is it to be stuck inside a watch, though?" Her brow was furrowed in adorable confusion, a sight too precious for words. He had always had loved explaining things to her, teaching her, and that was true even now.

He elucidated gently, "He doesn't have to be. I could take it, merge with him again. Since we were originally the same person, and because there's now only one body between us, it would work." Without thought, he reached out – just to touch it, examine it a moment, not take – but Rose pulled the watch back against her chest protectively.

Pleadingly, she said, "Please don't. I need to think about this. It's weird, even for us, and I'm not sure I can reconcile both of you into one person again just yet. Not in my head I can't. And I'm not sure it's right to just replace people. Replace him with you, replace you with him – oh god, I have a headache coming on." He looked at her sympathetically. It made sense, and really, he was just overjoyed to see her again, to have the chance to look at her and hear her voice. Even if she was confused and skittish, he could wait, would wait, and would cherish the chance to win her over again. Because after giving her up to what he hoped would be a physically and emotionally safer, better life in the long term and seeing the idea crash and burn, he didn't think he could ever push her away again. Every reason he'd had for doing it had gone up in smoke, and he wasn't sure he had the fortitude to repeat the action besides.

It wasn't a simple situation, but his decision to go with it was. He had hope, now.

What he didn't have was a clue as to what to do or say at this very second. Luckily, Jack walked up slowly and held his hand out to Rose.

"Why don't you come with me for a while?"

"But..." protested the Doctor. He may not have been certain what move to make, but he was fairly sure he didn't want to stop looking at Rose. Jack smiled at him encouragingly.

"I'll bring her back, Doctor. Just, it's probably enough drama for one day, right? Let her rest and think about things. You should do the same; you look like shit." He turned to Rose. "I'll get you and Mickey set up in some temporary housing we have. And we can get a bite to eat." Rose smiled sadly but gratefully at him and reached for his hand, but she froze halfway.

Suddenly, her arms wrapped around the Doctor. It was a real, solid embrace, and he returned it with equal desperation. Her scent intoxicated him, the feel of her giving him courage.

She whispered, "I missed you. You were right next to me, but knowing you were here, alone, I still missed you." Then, she slowly extracted herself from his arms and took Jack's hand, casting one glance back before following him out the door.


	10. Choices and Chips

**Title:** Full Circle  
**Author:** Shen  
**Rating:** PG-13  
**Setting/Spoilers:** Post-Journey's End  
**Teaser:** "_We're not going to let this stand, are we?"_ Rose is not satisfied with how things turned out on Bad Wolf Bay, but it's a long path back to 10 and the TARDIS. What discoveries and hardships will she and 10.2 find along the way? A JE fixit fic.  
**Author's Note:** Hey, everyone. I'm sorry I let this one go for a while, but it's done now. Last chapter will go up in two days. If this fic is on your alert list, but you don't remember exactly what's going on, I suggest you skim Chapter 9. All the major plot points are mentioned there, plus it's the lead-in to this chapter.

**Chapter 10: Choices and Chips**

Rose trailed behind Jack as they left the main Hub, and Mickey walked behind her. As soon as they were in the tourist information center, Rose threw her arms around Jack and hugged him fiercely.

"I missed these like you wouldn't believe," he said, gathering her up and squeezing her tightly. Once relinquished, she turned to Mickey and embraced him just as hard.

"Hey, now," he said, amused, but he held her all the same.

"Eleven years, or didn't you hear?" explained Rose with a teasing lilt. She pulled away and looked at them both. Her mood felt improved just looking at the familiarity of their handsome faces and lopsided grins. "Sorry. I would've done that sooner, but my personal life was busy exploding." Abruptly, the men looked at her in dismay.

Jack cajoled, "Hey, he was happy to see you. He burnt himself out pushing people away today, and then you bounced right back! If you're in a less-than-ideal state, he'll deal with it and still feel lucky. It balances to a positive."

Rose protested, "But-"

"Uhp!" Jack cut her off. She stared at him incredulously and opened her mouth again, but Mickey suddenly clamped his hand over it. She inched her own fingers towards her service pistol, glaring menacingly, and he jumped back a meter, laughing.

Jack smiled and said, "Homicidal is a new level of cranky on you, Rose, at least to me. Come on; we'll pick up some food on the way to the flats, and you can argue all you want when we get there." As they walked towards a takeaway joint, Rose leaned over to Jack.

"Jack, I'm sorry. About what I did to you all those years ago. I wondered how you got to this century after hearing about you in..." she trailed off, feeling foolish, "er, that pocket dimension of Donna's that you can't possibly remember. Well, trust me when I say I heard about you being here and wondered, and then I met you but didn't have time to ask, so I asked the Doctor about it. Unable to die... I can't imagine." She looked up at him remorsefully.

"And he told me it was an accident. Don't worry, I'm kind of used to it now. Water under the bri- no, wait, what I meant to say was, 'I might forgive you for a kiss.'" Jack jutted out his jaw in a mockingly reproachful look, and Rose giggled. It seemed only fair, so she stood on her toes and gave him a chaste peck on the lips. At which point the blue-eyed man began to grin like an idiot.

A short while later, they all sat in Rose's temporary room, in a circle on the bed with their fish and chips. After some munching, the men looked at Rose expectantly. She nervously fidgeted and casted about.

"We don't have to just talk about me, you know."

"I'm rootless but issue free; nothing to talk about," said Mickey easily.

Jack nodded and added, "Pretty stable over here, too. We can catch up on my situation later; you're more important right now." Rose swallowed a chip and looked to the side, contemplating.

"Let it out," Mickey prompted. She glanced sidelong at him, and he stared back expectantly.

Finally, it burst out, "That was awful. I can't believe I acted like that!" Remembering the hurt on his face felt like a stab between the ribs.

Jack commented, mouth half-full of fish, "Well, to be fair, Rose, he's an idiot."

"No, I'm the idiot. I should have worked out my issues before coming back. I mean, my plan hinged on a time machine; it could have waited. I didn't have to show up and be so... cold." Her eyes took a downward cast. "I just wanted to see his face so badly."

"You've been through a lot; he'll forgive you. Now, tell us about these issues. Mickey and I'll sort it right out; Jeremy Kyle's got nothing on us."

"I don't know. I thought I was over all this! I mean, it's been eleven years. I got over being left, because I understood why he did it, at least somewhat. Davros and the Daleks were as much to blame as him. And because I had a Doctor there to help me through it. But now I'm back to the one that got me angry all those years ago, and I'm... It's petty."

Jack reasoned, "Well, you just said it: This is the one that wronged you. That body pulled the dematerialization switch. Of course you're having a reaction."

"But," she argued feebly, "he's the same man. But... he isn't. Ugh, it's just complicated. I want to reconcile the two people into one, because they started that way, but then I feel guilty for doing that. As if this one isn't good enough without those eleven years, or as if the other one was replaceable."

"Rose," Mickey countered, "it isn't all about you, you know." She raised a peeved eyebrow at him.

"No, hear me out," he said, raising the tone of his voice and putting his hands up in placation. "It's the Doctor's brain that's going to undergo an overhaul with this. I'm sure he doesn't want to replace any of his personality with a different person. So they must be alike enough for him, right? Because he wants it. Even I can tell that." Rose looked down, deep in thought.

"Well, the human one actually did have some behavior differences. He was part Donna Noble." She made a face. "He really had a flair for shoes, which was weird at first. Slightly different sense of humor, more blunt. But at heart, he was the same." As she finished, she looked back at Mickey and nodded once.

Unperturbed, the former mechanic continued, "Well, then I'm sure the Doctor knows that! Either he's fine with adopting those things, or it's just a memory upload. Of time he's missed. And who knows? Maybe the regeneration made him unstable, and this will make him whole again. I mean, the man did split in half; that can't be good for you. It would explain how addled he must have been to drop you off in the first place."

"The lad may have a point," Jack encouraged, but then Mickey shook his head.

"Don't mistake me; I'm not saying she should do it. I mean, what the hell do I know? I apparently haven't seen you in over a decade. I'm just saying that you shouldn't worry about wanting to replace this Doctor or… stepping on the human one's memory or any of that. It's up to what you want, seems like it to me. I certainly wouldn't blame you if you if you didn't go through with it. It's weird and a little creepy, even for your life."

"I thought you just said it wasn't all about me!" Frustration strangled her tone.

"I meant-" he stuttered, stymied, "I was sayin' that deciding whether it was mean to the Doctor or not wasn't just about you, because it's his brain, and he thinks it's not. It's been a long day, alright? My point is, do what you want."

"Well, I think you should do it," Jack stated with conviction.

"You do?" Rose looked at him anew. He had even more reason to spite or deny the Doctor than she did. Being left alone on a dying space station was worlds away from being trapped with friends and family, like she was.

"Rose... I would never suggest that those years were a waste. No matter what you do. But wouldn't it be nice if you could share them with the Doctor? I've lived a long time and taken a lot of lovers. Some who meant a great deal to me." Wistful reminiscence clouded his gaze. "And when they go, besides wishing for more time…" He paused, seeming to struggle with the words. A small grunt of frustration escaped him, but he shook himself and continued.

"Try to understand, I lose people in ways few others do. I outlive every other person who's ever known them, so all I have is my own memories. It's taught me to value that ability to reminisce, to share with someone. You'll have more time with your lost loved one, in a way, no matter what you choose. But don't you want to share those memories with him as well? Have them together? Whether this Doctor is the same man or different, your dead lover lives on that way, at least somehow."

"I... I don't know," she despaired. God, after all that had just been said, she wasn't even sure it was her decision. She had been inclined to feel like it. The Doctor gave up the right when he booted her and his double off the TARDIS and sealed them away. But then, the double was the one who made the watch and told Rose to share it with his Time Lord self. And they were his memories, after all.

She fell back on the bed, heedless of the chips sent flying out of their takeaway containers.

"Hey!"

"I think I need to sleep on it." Jack patted her leg.

"Eat your comfort food first. Mickey'll be next door, and I'll give you my number if you need me. There's a phone in here."

Tiredly, she uttered, "Thank you, Jack. You too, Mickey. I'd be completely lost without you."

"Hey, none of that," chided her childhood friend. "We're just happy to have you back. If things don't work out, you and me can still be a team. Maybe clean up the mean streets of Cardiff?"

Jack protested, "Excuse me, this is my town. No vigilantes!"

"Fine, mean streets of London. Rose, you'd look smashing in a spandex costume. And maybe a cape?"

Suddenly enthusiastic, Jack described, "Oooh, a cute half-cape to show off her ass and a giant gun for contrast. And Mickey, you definitely need something sleeveless to show off those arms." He raised an eyebrow at the younger man suggestively.

"Err…" Mickey sidled away from Jack until Rose hit them both with a pillow.


	11. The Decision

**Title:** Full Circle  
**Author:** Shen  
**Rating:** PG-13  
**Setting/Spoilers:** Post-Journey's End  
**Teaser:** "_We're not going to let this stand, are we?"_ Rose is not satisfied with how things turned out on Bad Wolf Bay, but it's a long path back to 10 and the TARDIS. What discoveries and hardships will she and 10.2 find along the way? A JE fixit fic.  
**Author's Note:** Last chapter! Please tell me what you think of it? It was hard to craft an ending to this one!

**Chapter 11: The Decision**

The Doctor paced in the control room. There was more room for pacing in the corridors, but then he wouldn't be able to see the monitors. And he needed to see the monitors, because they would tell him when Rose got back to the Torchwood Hub. He would have preferred to pace outside his ship, of course, but Jack said he was making his people nervous for some reason.

Usually, when presented with so much free time, work on the TARDIS would occur first. She needed it, too, after towing a planet. However, after his fourth or so misstep, the ship proceeded to shock him until he left her alone. Apparently his concentration was shot.

A particular sound rolled into his ears, and he stood at meerkat-like attention. Aha! The cog-like door was opening, and since all company personnel were at work already, it must be-

"Rose," he whispered, almost reverently. The one thing he believed in and the person that believed in him after he gave up on himself. It had been a long night, spent contemplating innumerable things. What Martha, Jack, and Mickey had all told him about himself. What Donna had said about needing someone to stop him. The decisions he'd made these past few days. The determination it must have taken Rose in order to come back to him. All in all, he'd been a first class prat. But no longer.

That she would come back to him filled him with awed incredulity. He had no idea how he could inspire such devotion, but this! This was the fired steel poker in the eye of his doubt. All that could be done was to try and deserve it.

He bounded out the door and went to her. She smiled carefully at him, and he grabbed her hand.

"Doctor-"

"Wait!" he demanded. Out of either obedience or shock, her mouth clapped shut.

He took a breath and announced with all surety, "Rose Ty-"

"Alright, you crazy kids, in you go!" Jack exclaimed cheerily as he suddenly began pushing and herding them towards the TARDIS. "Enjoy your privacy."

Indignantly, the Doctor declared, "Jack, I don't care who hears what I have to say."

"Well, do me a favor, then. My people have an ungodly amount of work to do after yesterday, and you two are a distraction." They were already backed up to the open door of the ship and so obligingly took the last step in. Jack kissed Rose's head, then gave both of them an encouraging pat on the shoulder before shutting the door.

Without missing a beat, the Doctor blurted, "Rose Tyler, I love you." She looked confused at his urgency, but he rambled on, "You have no idea how long I spent regretting that I didn't say it in time the first time you said it to me. And then I would have yesterday – the part that was my yesterday and your decade-and-then-some-ago – but it seemed crueler to, or insincere, or maybe I didn't know what I was doing or how it would feel, to tell you and never see you again, but you're here now, and you need to know I love you. And I don't know if you want me to open the watch or not, but either way, I didn't want you thinking that, in wanting that, I was taking the easy way out, only saying it after being given the memory of already saying it before saying it myself." She stared at him intensely, gauging his words or perhaps just trying to follow his erratic sentence structure, but he just gazed back at her with absolute conviction. At last, some kind of realization bloomed, and her face relaxed. Did he spy the shine of tears in her eyes?

"That means _everything_ to me," she expressed quietly. He beamed. Slowly, she tipped her chin up to kiss him, and they touched almost chastely. As he'd once taken the power of time and space from her, she now leached the tension from his form, relaxing his whole body. He sighed contentedly as they parted and tried to follow her as she sank to her heels again. She laughed at him.

"You don't even realize, do you?"

"What?" He followed her gaze down and saw that he held an ornate fobwatch in his left hand. The appendage began to shake.

He asked hesitantly, not yet looking away from the coveted object, "You really feel I deserve this?" To instantly have memories of a dozen years with her?

"It's not about what you deserve. This isn't a calculation game. I haven't tallied the give and take. This is about the fact that I love you, both of you. And he wanted you to have it. So it's yours; I trust you." As she spoke, he looked up and took in her expression, deadly serious and full of devotion.

"But!"

"But?" he yelped.

"There's something I want you to understand first. And you're really going to have to work hard, because it took me a few years to get it." He nodded and waited expectantly. Her mouth opened… then closed. Chagrin spread across her features.

"Sorry, I spent all night figuring out that last part. I need a minute for this one."

"Oh, well that's-"

"It's like drugs!" she exclaimed triumphantly.

"What?!"

But now the words flowed as if from a struck fire hydrant, "Like what Roger said in _Rent._ I can't love you like I should, and even moreso, you can't love me like you're capable, unless you love yourself. You dropped us off because you didn't think you deserved the people whose companionship you most wanted. But you're smart, and strong, and important. You do a lot for time and the universe, and you're allowed to be a little selfish.

"And for _that_ matter, you have to remember that my opinion matters, too! Namely when it comes to life-changing events, even if you think you know best." At this, she glared. He acknowledged this with a slow nod.

"I promise, from now on, I won't ever-"

She interrupted, "Just… promise you'll try, for me. That's all anyone can ask. Even Time Lords aren't perfect." He chuckled ruefully.

"Fine. Rose Tyler, I will work on my undesirable tendencies, as long as you agree to stay by my side."

"Always."

"And you have to stop eating the last banana, which you probably still do. And there will be a limit of one romantic comedy every two relative weeks on the TARDIS. I think it's only fair." He lifted his chin and looked down at her with faked imperiousness. She rolled her eyes good-naturedly but nodded, her only real retaliation a poke in his ribs.

"And to show you how serious I am, I'm not going to use this watch," he informed her. Rose's smile dropped abruptly.

"Wh…what?"

Hurriedly, he qualified it with, "At least, not right away. Give me months or weeks or years before I do. You say I'm allowed to be selfish and have some of what I want, but right now, I want to earn you on my own. No shortcuts. I first want to make up my mistake to you, at least some small measure of it. Even if I literally take my entire home with me wherever I travel, let no one say I rely on the easy way!" He noticed that she held a mixed countenance of pride and sadness, and his hand cupped her jaw.

"Wait for me?" he inquired seriously, hopefully, willing her to understand.

After just a second, she whispered, "Yes." He spun away with a roguish laugh and threw his hands in the air.

"You're brilliant. Don't let anyone ever tell you different – though I expect you know that. But no matter when I do it, you know what?" He pointed at her dramatically. "I'm going to make it up to you. Yes, all eleven years!" he added at her raised eyebrow. She allotted him a teasing smile.

"That might take a while. It'll have to be good."

"Oh, it will," he promised throatily. "I'm taking you everywhere it's worthwhile to go. I want you to see everything. It's good that you're going to be around a while, Rose Tyler, because you're looking at decades of fantastic." He strode closer to her.

"I hope you won't spare me the danger." She took a predatory step forward as well.

"As if I could, with such a jeopardy-friendly woman." He pulled up just inches from her face. "Besides, it would be cruel to deny the universe such an expert." Flattered, she smiled. He kissed her, pressing his determination into her lips, pulling her form against his almost roughly. She met him just as passionately, tangling her hands in his hair.

He meant it. A work in progress he may be, but right then, he felt that with this woman at his side to give him strength, he could learn. He could improve. And even if fate caused him to outlast her lifespan… that growth would never leave him. She really would be with him always; he would make sure of it.

END


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